Air conditioning device



May 1, 1934.

w. c. DENISON AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed Feb. '26, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet l l I I I I I ll-llll I I I I I Filed Feb. 26, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 1, 1934. w. c. DENISON 1,957,058

AIR connmoume mavxcs Filed Feb. 26, 1931' s Sheets-Sheet s May 1, 1934. w. c. DENISON I AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1951 GSheets-Shqet 4 May 1, I934. c DENISON 1,957,058

AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Cute: wzu

May 1, 1934. w. c. DENISON AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 26

Patented May 1, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE This invention "relates to an air conditioning appliance and particularly to improvements over the device disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 420,242.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an air conditioning appliance embodying the broad invention disclosed and claimed in said copending application in a form in which there are numerous improvements in the details of con-- struction resulting in very marked advantages,

such as simplicity of construction, improved distribution of air passage through a cleaning screen, quick removability of an outer wall for the purpose of obtaining ready access to the cleaning fabric for changing the same and improved means for mounting the cleaning screen which has numerous advantages as will be pointed out. With the foregoing and other and more specific objects in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described and pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. l is a vertical sectionalview through one form of my improved air conditioning device; Fig.

2 is a front elevational view of the structure shown vertical section through another form. of my invention; and Fig. 5 is'a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a'section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 'l is a detail section through a trough which supplies water for humidification and showing one of the humidifying screens in position; and Fig. 8 is a sectionon line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Referring particularly to the form of my invention disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the reference character A indicates generallythe improved unit which is to be installed in connection with a furnace B of the hot air type when both said furnace and said unit are positioned in a substantially air-tight furnace room and air returning from the rooms is delivered through suitable ducts into such furnace room, or when outside air is delivered into said furnace'room, conditioned, heated and then supplied to the rooms of the house. This type of installation is also suitable for-use where some air is taken from the house and some from the outside. Inasmuch as the hot air furnace B and the supply pipe C are of conventional construction, the detailed description will be confined to the unit A. The unit A includes a rear wall 10, side walls 11 and 12, a top wall 13 provided with openings, nor-- mally closed by a cover 14, and is closed by a ioraminated, hinged front wall or door 15 preferably consistingof a wire or other suitable fabric of sufficiefitly coarse mesh to ofier substantially no interference to the passage of 7 air. The front of the compartment A may be outlined by suitable angle irons .16 adapted to strengthen the same and to serve as a jamb against which the hinged front wall or closure may abut. The said wall 15 may be made up of a frame 1'? in which the foraminated wall 15 is secured.

Air filtering A pair of brackets 18 may be securedto the walls 12 and 13 in any suitable manner, such as by rivets or spot welding. At the upper end of each bracket 18 I may provide a vertical notch 19 adapted to receive the ends of one or more pins 20 which serve to journal a spool 21 of flexible, sheet, filtering material 22. It will be obvious that, when air passes in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, the same will pass through that raminated wall will support the filter which will be held securely thereagainst by the slight pressure of air passing therethrough. It will be obvious that by constructing the wall 150i meshes of proper size, a fragile filtering material, such as porous paper, may be employed. It will be obvious from the foregoing that extreme convenience in providing a new filter portion for covering the foraminated wall can be secured by the useof this device or another similar device embodying the same inventive thought. It will be only necessary to cut the sheet 22 at the top or" the wall 15, remove the same, and pull down a fresh supply into covering relation with the foraminated wall 15.

Air circulation of horizontally extending angles 26 positioned at the two sides of the partition 23 and bowedlcutwardly to afiord greater separation. The angles 26 carry suitable bearings 27in which is jour;

naled a shaft 28 of a fan 29. Vertical an le or T-irons 30 may be provided for additional rigidity in supporting the bearings 27. The fan which I employ will preferably consist of a central disk 31 which preferably will have a double construction, such as that shown in the drawings in Fig. 1 for the purpose of securing rigidity. Fixedly carried by the shaft 27 is a pulley 32 which receives a belt 33 for the purpose of transmitting power from a suitable electric motor 34 which may be carried on a bracket 35 outside the casing in the manner illustrated, the belt 33 passing through small openings in the'walls 12. At its lower part the partition 23 will preferably be curved as shown at 23 and will be provided with an upturned portion 23 adapted to constitute the lowermost section of the said partition 23 a drip trough in which water may collect. A connection of this drip trough with the sewer may be provided as indicated at 34..

Humidification 1n the compartment A at the right-hand side of the partition 23 as seen in Fig. 1, I provide a C-shaped humidification trough 35 which may be supported on any suitable brackets 36. The trough 35 will be connected with the city or other water supply and will be provided with a float valve 37 adapted to maintain. a constant water level therein. Secured to the drip trough in a manner hereinafter more fully described are a plurality of humidifying fabrics, one 38 adjacent the rear wall 10, a pair of narrow strips 39 adjacent the side walls, and an irregularly shaped sheet 40 adjacent the partition 23. The fabric 40 has narrow strips 40"- suspending it from the short trough portions 35 and the lower end lies in the drip trough, as indicated at 40'. It will be observed that the various walls adiacent which the humidifying fabrics hang are provided with ribs 41 to prevent any considerable portion of the humidifying fabric from adhering closely to such walls. The details of the means for keeping the humidifying fabrics moist are substantially those employed in the second modification hereinafter described and therefore no detailed description of the slightly different form illustrated in Fig. 1 will be given. 7

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that in the operation of this modification of my invention, the air will be taken from a suitably controlled source, such as return air pipes from the various rooms of a house or-outside atmosphere, and will be passed through the screening filter 22 which is supported against the foraminous wall 15 and then passed by impulsion of the fan 29 through the opening of the partition 23, over the moist surfaces of the humidifying fabrics and delivered to the hot air furnace B where it is heated and passed through supply ducts C to thevarious rooms of the house. The extraordinary convenience with which the filter 22 may be renewed from the supply spoolor roll 21 has al-' ready been referred to.

Referring now to the modification of my invention illustrated in Figs. 4 to 8 inclusive, it will be seen that a larger compartment provided by the addition of a down pipe or passage D to the elements which correspond functionally to the compartment A in the first modification.

to be maintained is brought in through the down passage D. The conditioning unit of this modification includes suitable walls making up an airtight passage and causing air to be taken in at the passage D, passed through the conditioning unit and to the shell E of a hot air furnace. The down passage D is defined by side walls 50, a hinged front wall 51 and the foraminous partition 52 which supports the functional portion 53"- of the filter 53 which is carried on a suitable spool 54 journaled in brackets 55 supported, as for example, on the wall of the down passage D. A bottom wall may be provided, or the floor may be relied upon to form the bottom wall. The hinged wall 51' may be suitably braced and reinforced by angles 56 extending around the opening and forming a jamb against which the same may abut. As in the first modification described, the screening or filtering of air is effected by passage through the filter portion 53. Where it is found convenient to support the roll of filter on the opposite side of the wall 52 from that upon which it is to be used, a slot 57 may be provided and a guide roller 58 may be employed to direct the filter to its proper position. I also prefer to employ a spring pressed leaf 59 against which a used portion 53 of the filter 53 may be torn off for the purpose of convenient change. The foraminous portion of the wall 52 may be supported as by a frame 60 attached to an angle iron frame 61.

Air circulation Extending across the conditioning unit, preferably in substantial parallelism with the wall 52, is a partition 62 analogous to,that 23 in the first modification described. The lower end of this partition will also be curved to take part with the wall portion 63 in the formation of a duct to convey air from the conditioning unit to the interior of the shell of the hot air furnace B. Near theupper portion of the partition 62 I provide an opening 64 adjacent which is a fan 65 of centrifugal type, which is housed in the upstanding casing portion 66 and driven by a suit- The housing 66 may be reinforced by means of an angle member 73 extending around the edge thereof. A plate 74 may be attached by suitable bolts or the like to the rear wall 75 of the housing 66 and may have formed integral therewith a journal 76 adapted to form a bearing for the fan shaft 72. Horizontal angles 77-may be provided for reinforcing the wall structures. A plate 78 may be secured by suitable screws provided with wing nuts 79 to afford access through an opening 80 to humid?fying fabrics hereinafter to be described. The lower portion of the opening 80 may be reinforced by an angle iron 81.

Hunu'dificatz'on As indicated in'Fig. 4, I provide'in this modification a plurality of humidifying fabrics 82. These fabrics are supported upon and depend from a water containing trough 83 which has preferably a plurality of parallel portions 83 and an interconnecting head portion 83 Air which has been screened is caused by action of the fan 65 to pass downwardly over the surface of the humidifying fabrics 82. A drip trough 84 may be provided at the bottom of the partition 62 and connected to a waste pipe 85 as indicated.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that along each water trough 83 I provide a plurality of wicks 90 which extend varying distances I into the trough and over the curved edge at thereof. The humidifying fabrics 82 will be secured in any suitable manner, such as by a clip 92 to, one edge of the trough 83 and will rest upon the wicks whereby to receive moisture therefrom. As already brought out, water is to be maintained in the trough 83 at a predetermined level by means of a float valve indicated at 83. By proper adjustment of the water level in the trough 83 by means of bending the rod to which the float is attached or other suitable adjustment or" the float valve it will be possible to vary the number or wicks which dip into the water and thereby vary the amount of moisture which is imparted to the humidifying fabrics 82. It will be obvious that the trough 83 may be coated inside with enamel'or a shield of suitable noncorro= sive' material may be placed underneath each of the wicks if that is found necessary to avoid deterioration of thewicks due to corrosion or chemical or physical action which might interfere with the capillary properties thereof.

From the foregoing it will be evident that I l have provided a very simple and eiiicient air con hit ditioning device-which is well adapted for its intended purpose, and while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment, I wish it understood that certain changes can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

While my invention has beendescribed in connection with a furnace of the hot air tim it is to be understood that cleaning and humidification may be carried out by the use of this device whether or not the same is operated in conjunction with the furnace.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An air conditioning device including a foraminous wall portion, means supporting a roll of fiexible, sheet, filtering material adjacent thereto in such a manner that successive filters can be easily and quickly unrolled from said roll partition.

into contacting and covering relation to said wall portion and means for causing air to flow succes 'sively through filtering material covering said well portion-and said wall portion, said'filters being free except for their connection with said roll and being held in positiomagainst said foraminous wall portion by air pressure set up by said last means.

2. An air conditioning means including walls defining a chamber, one of said walls being foraminous, means for supporting a roll of flexible,

resinous a. An air conditioning mm including Walls defining a chamber, ,one of said walls being toraminous, mm for supporting a roll of flexible,

sheet, screening material adiacent said foraminous wall, a partition in said chamber provided withan opening and dividing the same into two compartments, one of said compartments having a. An air conditioning means including walls defining a chamber, one of said walls being ioraminous, means for supporting a roll of flexible, sheet, screening material adjacent said ioraminous wall, a partition in said chamber. provided with an opening and dividing the same into two compartments, one of said compartments having therein a plurality of spaced substantially parallel sheets of humidifying fabric, means for keeping said fabric moist, and means for causing air to flow through the opening in said partition.

5. An air conditioning means including walls defining a chamber, one of said walls being fo raminous, means for supporting a roll of flexible, sheet, screening material adjacent said foraminous wall, a partition in said chamber provided with an opening and dividing the same into two compartments, one of said compartments having a plurality of its walls covered with humidifying fabric, means for keeping said fabric moist, and means for causing air to flow through the opening in said partition.

6. In a device of the class described, as a subcombinations. watertrough, a float valve adjustable for controlling the height of water therein, a

said wicks, whereby the supply of moisture to said humidifying fabric may be controlled by the height of water in said trough.

8. In a device of the class described, as a. subcombination, a, plurality of interconnected parallel water troughs, a float valve adjustable for controlling the height of water therein,-a plurality of wicks extending into each said trough to different depths, and a humidifying fabric incontact with said wicks, whereby the supply of moisture to said humidifying fabric may be controlled by the height of water in said trough.

WILLIAM C. D N. 

